Geography

Suriname lies on the northeast coast of South America, with Guyana to
the west, French Guiana to the east, and Brazil to the south. It is about
one-tenth larger than Michigan. The principal rivers are the Corantijn on
the Guyana border, the Marowijne in the east, and the Suriname, on which
the capital city of Paramaribo is situated.

Government

Constitutional democracy.

History

Suriname's earliest inhabitants were the Surinen Indians, after whom
the country is named. By the 16th century they had been supplanted by
other South American Indians. Spain explored Suriname in 1593, but by 1602
the Dutch began to settle the land, followed by the English. The English
transferred sovereignty to the Dutch in 1667 (the Treaty of Breda) in
exchange for New Amsterdam (New York). Colonization was confined to a
narrow coastal strip, and until the abolition of slavery in 1863, African
slaves furnished the labor for the coffee and sugarcane plantations.
Escaped African slaves fled into the interior, reconstituted their western
African culture, and came to be called “Bush Negroes” by the Dutch. After
1870, East Indian laborers were imported from British India and Javanese
from the Dutch East Indies.

Known as Dutch Guiana, the colony was integrated into the kingdom of
the Netherlands in 1948. Two years later Dutch Guiana was granted home
rule, except for foreign affairs and defense. After race rioting over
unemployment and inflation, the Netherlands granted Suriname complete
independence on Nov. 25, 1975. A coup d'état in 1980 brought military
rule. During much of the 1980s, Suriname was under the repressive control
of Lieut. Col. Dési Bouterse. The Netherlands stopped all aid in 1982 when
Suriname soldiers killed 15 journalists, politicians, lawyers, and union
officials. Defense spending increased significantly, and the economy
suffered. A guerrilla insurgency by the Jungle Commando (a Bush Negro
guerrilla group) threatened to destabilize the country and was harshly
suppressed by Bouterse. Free elections were held on May 25, 1991,
depriving the military of much of its political power. In 1992 a peace
treaty was signed between the government and several guerrilla groups. In
March 1997, the president announced new economic measures, including
eliminating import tariffs on most basic goods, coupled with strict price
controls. Later that year, the Netherlands said it would prosecute
Bouterse for cocaine trafficking.

Public discontent over the 70% inflation rate prompted President Jules
Wijdenbosch to hold elections in May 2000, a year ahead of schedule. The
New Front for Democracy and Development, a coalition led by former
president Ronald Venetiaan, won the election. Venetiaan was reelected in
Aug. 2005.

In May 2006, torrential flooding left more than 20,000 homeless.

In July 2007, a United Nations tribunal settled a long-simmering maritime dispute between Suriname and Guyana. The UN redrew the maritime border to give both countries access to an area potentially rich in oil deposits.